Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 41

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

(41) The King’s Sword

“At this point….”
Murmurs of discontent spilled from the noblewomen’s lips.
“That preposterous rumor might actually be true.”
Someone spoke up.
“Even for a Holy Knight, there’s no precedent for this. If she’s being treated as a legitimate wife, she should at least appear at an official ball and pay her respects. Yet she hasn’t even cast a shadow.”
The whispers of High Society showed no signs of stopping. This was far more than idle curiosity. The castle Alexis had been granted stood in the very heart of the Royal Capital—a sacred space that symbolized divine majesty itself.
Roan Eleanor Hartwood had originally been treated as an abandoned wife confined to the East Annex. Everyone knew this fact. Yet now, simply by virtue of being the Holy Knight’s wife, she occupied the position of mistress of the castle.
And she was rejecting every invitation. This bordered on a complete repudiation of High Society itself.
“To disregard the dignity and propriety we’ve upheld our entire lives like this.”
“Surely the Glister Family failed in their daughter-in-law’s education?”
Chandeliers sparkled with light as silk curtains swayed gently. Tonight’s party was unusually crowded. The eyes of the noblewomen, arrayed before an assortment of wines and delicacies, converged on a single point—the Countess Glister and Audrey.
“My, tonight we have both Lady Audrey and the Countess of the Glister Family gracing us with their presence?”
“We haven’t seen your faces in quite some time.”
Affectionate greetings poured forth like a waterfall, yet both women’s shoulders remained subtly tense.
This was their first appearance at a social gathering since Alexis had taken his position. They had kept to themselves for some time, but they could not hide away forever.
Ultimately, Count Glister could delay his schedule no longer, and Francis could not abandon his duties as Royal Palace administrator. Thus, the women of the Glister Family could no longer decline social engagements.
As the Countess and Audrey exchanged pleasantries with the guests, one noblewoman broached the subject with a slight smile.
“Everyone has been so eager to see you, my lady.”
At those words, the Countess’s lips stiffened visibly. Audrey held her breath. The assembled guests observed their reactions with keen attention.
“What an honor for our family. I must confess, I’m envious, Countess.”
“We would truly love to see that precious face.”
Having anticipated such reactions to some degree, the Countess forced her lips upward despite her rigid expression.
“My son has been so terribly occupied with his duties….”
“Even so, this is rather excessive.”
Then, a noblewoman renowned for her boldness interjected.
“One might excuse the Holy Knight for such behavior, but for his wife to avoid showing her face as well….”
She continued in a noticeably colder tone.
“Since the marriage, Countess, you’ve only brought your First Daughter-in-law to these gatherings, never once presenting your Second Daughter-in-law. Isn’t this a failure to observe proper etiquette?”
The noblewoman who had spoken was none other than an elderly Marchioness—a seasoned powerbroker of High Society whom even the Countess Glister could not dare challenge.
As the influential Marchioness delivered her sharp words, a cold murmur rippled through the crowd.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. She’s become part of the Glister Family, yet I’ve never seen the Countess attend to her.”
“Not just the Countess either. The First Daughter-in-law has never shown any care for her sister-in-law.”
“No wonder they’ve kept themselves entirely removed from High Society.”
“I’ve heard that even at her entry, the family didn’t follow proper procedures—the couple went directly without ceremony.”
“Then the rumors of family discord must be true….”
Their whispers cut through the two women’s hearts like razor-sharp blades. The Countess’s eyes trembled visibly. She had never endured such humiliation in her entire life. She had always been respected everywhere as the esteemed mistress of the prestigious Glister Family.
Though the second son’s reputation occasionally troubled her, Alexis’s circumstances were hardly her concern. The Countess forced herself to maintain composure, struggling to preserve her noble bearing as she smiled.
“Now that he has become a Holy Knight, it is only natural that he should lead an independent life. Our family’s relationship with him remains unchanged.”
Yet the noblewomen exchanged glances and shook their heads.
“But isn’t it rather strange that they haven’t appeared together at a single official gathering?”
“No matter how much of a Holy Knight he is, how long can he truly maintain distance from his family?”
“That’s why you must guide your son back for his own sake.”
Their words, though couched in concern, amounted to nothing more than a demand that the Countess and Audrey bring the Holy Knight couple into high society. The noblewomen surrounded them, speaking of nothing but Alexis. Count Glister himself likely faced even harsher pressure, if anything.
While the Countess found herself on the defensive, struggling to manage the noblewomen, Audrey forced a smile and covered her lips with her fan.
But her eyes grew steadily darker. The current situation, with all its endless excuses, felt deeply humiliating. She despised both the prospect of her husband and herself actively participating in high society and the alternative—their absence, which forced her to manufacture these explanations.
Yet her anger did not turn toward Alexis. She could not bring herself to resent him, for she harbored a fear of him that ran too deep.
‘That I should suffer such shame because of that insignificant woman.’
The Countess, too, maintained her smile, but her fingers trembled as they gripped the cold wine glass.
Her sister came to mind—the one who had cast her into shadow for a lifetime. In the bloom of her beauty, she had vanished like falling blossoms into legend.
Though she had never shown it outwardly, the Countess had harbored resentment for so long. Now it seemed as though her sister had been reborn in Alexis. Suddenly, his arrogant face flashed before her eyes.
‘He means to drive my life back into shadow.’
Her own son, whom she could never truly love. Mother and son were bound by a curse.
That gathering left nothing but unbearable humiliation and rage in their hearts. And it did not end there.
The longer the Holy Knight couple remained absent from high society, the more relentlessly the Glister Family faced questions bordering on interrogation.
They sent letters urging them to show their faces for the family’s reputation, but neither Alexis nor Rowan sent any reply.
Within the two women’s hearts, simple discontent transformed into something far darker—a malice that approached vengeance.
***
Yet contrary to the gossip swirling through high society, there were those who viewed the Holy Knight couple favorably.
They were the Royal Palace and the moderate faction.
“I find it admirable—using this opportunity as a stepping stone without greed, cherishing his wife instead.”
The King must always guard against rising factions. Moreover, the greater the Temple’s power grows, the less influence the Crown retains.
The current High Priest wielded formidable holy power and achievements, commanding the Grand Cathedral with such strength that he stood as an equal to the King himself.
Now, beneath that High Priest, a Holy Knight had emerged with unprecedented holy power in the Kingdom’s history—a development that could not help but concern the King.
Yet Alexis did not request more of what the King had granted; he received it with gratitude. He showed no interest in expanding or consolidating his influence. His daily routine was simply to return to his castle once his duties were complete.
The King, informed of every detail without omission, confirmed that Alexis harbored no primary ambitions and felt reassured.
‘The Grand Cathedral may regret it, but the Kingdom welcomes this.’
Furthermore, he did not cast aside his wife from a humble family—one that could be described as obscure—and instead, after becoming a Holy Knight, the bond between husband and wife had grown even more tender. This was judged to reveal a certain purity of character.
The King openly praised Alexis’s conduct to his vassals. In such circumstances, they could not fault the King’s judgment, and they gradually began to extol the new Holy Knight. Whatever rumors circulated about the couple in high society, the King and his vassals regarded them most favorably.
The King drew Alexis closer to his side. Rather than working through the High Priest, the King himself began to entrust Alexis with weighty duties concerning the Palace’s hidden intrigues.
Thus Alexis’s position as the King’s most cherished blade grew ever more secure.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————